Pirates, Astros involved in Jose Quintana talks

Ken Rosenthal tweets that the White Sox are in the midst of ongoing trade discussions involving Jose Quintana. The Pirates, Astros and other teams might be involved. The Yankees, who had previously been connected to Quintana, seem to be a “longshot” at this point.

This helps shed some light on Quintana’s market, although none of it comes as a shock. The Astros had previously been connected to Quintana, and they still need rotation help; if Quintana talks were to come down to the Pirates and one other team, it would make sense that it would be the Astros.

The Yankees had been connected to Quintana as well, but they aren’t as good of a fit as the Pirates and Astros are. Rosenthal further notes that the Yankees seem less willing than other teams to give up prospects for Quintana, which is exactly the hangup you would think they would have. If the Yankees are going to add a marquee veteran via a trade, Quintana makes as much sense as anyone else, since he’s young and controllable through 2020. At the same time, though, he’ll require a significant prospect cost, and the Yankees’ recent trades mostly suggest they’re hoping to really come to life around 2019 or so, when their prospects will be more mature and when there will be a ton of talent available on the free agent market. If they’re going to add a Quintana type via a trade, it might make more sense to do that then.

Rosenthal, by the way, doesn’t mention the reported three-team talks between the White Sox, Pirates and Yankees, which never really added up to begin with.